Swimming With Sharks in Dark Water: Having Race and Working With Grace in Corporate White America

by Athene Brinson

Individuals are not racist by intent; they are racist by culture, heritage, and education. If I were to ask anyone if they were a racist, they would immediately deny it as a possibility. They would espouse their wonderful humanitarian acts, or friends of color that would support an embracement of diversity that would make us all proud. The truth, I have never met a racist that knew they were racist. Even when educated as to what they have done, they would go to their grave stating that under no circumstances should I ever consider them a racist. This book is designed to tell you that it does not matter how many racists you meet in the office, you can still be successful. This book is designed to help you identify, and cope, and achieve success in those corporate environments that are not well. It provides you with advice on how to "swim with sharks in dark water." This book will help you to use your "Spidey senses," to trust your gut, to identify when you are working on a plantation, how to cope until you can leave. Oh, by the way, I need to tell you that you do not have the power at any time on any day to fix the plantation, without permanently damaging your career. The people who have fixed these issues have sacrificed their career, possibly their livelihood to ensure that we do not experience what they did. They shall always be the nameless heroes of our generation. We will always be indebted to those individuals who spoke up and lost their livelihood as a result. You need to understand that making a difference has a cost, and those that have done this have paid dearly.

106 pages, Paperback

Published May 31, 2018

Reviews

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Swimming with Sharks in Dark Waters by Athene Brinson is a great introduction to navigating race in the workplace. It's short, lightweight and engagingly written. It's all personal anecdotes where Brinson explains the racism she's experienced and the lessons she's learned. As she puts it, she hopes this book means that other WOC (especially Black women) will be able to learn from her mistakes instead of having to make their own.

Brinson classifies the types of racists in the workplace into different types of sharks and explains their characteristics and what to look out for along with very handy strategies on how to minimise the risk and damage they can cause you.

I think what I liked about this book was 1) feeling completely seen as a WOC - not just as a footnote in a white woman's leadership book; and 2) that Brinson straight up says that some organisations are toxic and you should start designing an exit strategy ASAP. That's the kind of forthright advice I needed early in my career, that's for sure.

This book isn't perfect by any means, but Brinson's advice is solid. And remember, the reason we read these books is to build up a full toolbox of strategies that we can deploy when we need them. You might never need a Brinson strategy, but when you find yourself swimming with a shark you'll be glad you have it in your toolbox!!